I call stage combat the illusion of violence because I realized that convincing an audience that a fight is genuine while hiding the safety features is a magic trick. This is especially obvious if you watch magicians who saw their assistants in half or thrust swords through them.
Misdirection
About half of the effects in stage combat rely on one of the principles of magic, which are expertly explained by Penn & Teller:
The Eyes Have It
The simplest way of controlling the audience gaze is the magician’s own eyes. We humans will generally look where others are looking, especially when trying to understand or follow a story or procedure. If you watch a simple vanish of a coin, you’ll see that the illusionist will look towards the hand that you’re expecting the coin to transfer to, rather than the hand that is concealing it. Your eyes will follow his attention, and miss the palmed coin.
In another interview, Teller explains: “Make the intention so powerful that it overpowers the sleight of hand.”
His example is simple and elegant: If your trick is to palm a ball while simulating grabbing it with the other hand, you are relying only on your skill at the slight of hand. Why were you passing the ball in the first place?
A better solution is to include intention, which creates a logical story: Stand beside a table, on which is placed a ball and a wand. You must grab the ball with the near hand, but you must also grab the wand with the near hand, so you transfer the ball to the far hand in order to pick up the wand. Now, the pass to the other hand has an intention and a story, so the trick of palming the ball goes unnoticed.
Waving the wand is not magical, except that it performs two functions for controlling the audience’s attention
- It creates a tiny story of why the ball needs to be transferred, so the audience won’t look for the sleight of hand, and
- Using the wand in the hand that is already palming the ball will imply to the audience that the hand was empty.
How does this apply to stage combat?
- Look at your targets! It will help you hit them accurately and conveys your intention.
- Never look at your knap hand or a concealed blood-pack.
- If there are several actors on stage or multiple fighters, be aware of audience attention and coordinate your own shifts of attention.
- Assistants in a classroom should always look at the lead instructor.
Attention, Please!
Grabbing audience attention in the first place can be a challenge. Performing on a stage, dimming the theatre lights, having an announcement before the show… all of these elements focus the audience on your performance.
However, some venues do not have elevated stages or lights. In fact, some shows are designed to be a surprise to the audience, so how do you make sure you’ve got their attention?
- Make some noise! The clang of swords and shields will get a lot of heads turning.
- Make some big movements. A chase with yelling will get people to watch the exciting motion, perhaps also concerned that they might be in the path of running people.
- Do it where they’re already looking. If you’ve already got their attention in one direction, don’t force them to find you.
Exhausting their Attention
Many people love to watch fights regardless of the style or details. However, to some it will strain their attention to keep watching more than a minute or so. How do you keep their attention?
It all comes back to story. Show that one of the fighters is a villain and deserves to be beaten. Then show him winning against a virtuous hero. When the hero is in peril, you’ll have their attention. There are many other compelling story types, but for a fight, that’s the easiest answer.
Performance Combat Priorities
The three pillars of stage combat are Safety, Simulation and Storytelling. With a little understanding of stage magic, it becomes clear why we need these three elements in every motion, as simple as crushing a cigarette like Teller.
Join us in Performance Class (Tuesday and Thursday 8pm-10pm and/or Saturday 5pm-7pm) if you want to learn more about fighting for film or live audiences. You just need a little background in sword fighting, either your Green Cord or FDC class.
Head of Stage Combat at Academie Duello and certified Instructor with Fight Directors Canada. Head of Bartitsu at Academie Duello, the longest continuously running Bartitsu program in the world. Read more from David McCormick.